Weddingbee Blog

Oh, hive…I know some of you were a little over whelmed with The Schedule. That’s OK…let’s be real, creating a schedule for that many people to follow for an entire day is a little overwhelming. Here’s the thing, though—there’s more. So very much more.

Right, so we have The Schedule. But…I mean, what good is it, except that I have it and can read it? Me having all of the knowledge is nice, but essentially useless. I mentioned at the end of my last post that the most important thing was to give someone else the schedule on the day of the wedding, and it really is! So who did I give the schedule to? Well…everyone. Enter: The Packet.

In 2008 Mrs Daffodil introduced The Packet to Weddingbee. Granted, I wasn’t reading at that time, but I’d heard it mentioned a few times over the years and knew it would be the perfect communication tool. At 12 pages, my version of The Packet is a bit shorter than the original, but just as helpful. Included are: Key Contacts and Addresses for the entire weekend; an Overview of all Events including date, time, contact info, attendees, and a dress code suggestion; a Photo List for the formals; a detailed day-of Schedule in a more readable format; Maps and Directions; and Description of Roles. Whew.

I curled up on my couch one Saturday afternoon, two weeks before the wedding, and completely updated my version of The Packet. Then, one week before the wedding, I emailed it to every single person mentioned inside of it. (I included a message letting people know that, of course I didn’t expect them to read The Packet in its entirety, but if they had any questions about where to be, or when to be there, or what to do, they could find the answers inside.) In my last post, I mentioned that not having enough info gives me anxiety, so I was just trying to over-inform people instead.   I do know that some people appreciated it: when we were at the rehearsal waiting to practice going down the aisle, one of the groomsmen mentioned that weddings always made him so hungry and my FBIL told him not to worry, The Packet said there would be post-ceremony snacks. That was definitely not the last time someone quoted The Packet.

Hive, I know what you’re thinking—that’s a lovely packet, Mrs. Gloves, but it’s 12 pages long and no one is going to a) memorize it or b) bring their copy to your wedding. So true, hive, so true! Enter: The Cards.

These little guys were crazy-useful! Between the phone numbers on the front and the personalized schedule on the back, there was no way to be uninformed. (Someone got lost on the way to the Statehouse? No worries, just call the photographer. My mom couldn’t be found before the ceremony? No worries, the coordinator has her number! What should we be doing after the ceremony? Check your card!) We invited only the people directly involved with our wedding to the rehearsal dinner, so it was the perfect place to pass out the cards…and take some lighthearted teasing about my mania.

All right, hive—that’s about it for scheduling. I have posts coming about my to-do list(s) and how I organized my vendor search…am I missing anything regarding organization? Do you guys have any awesome hints that I didn’t mention? Or are you just glad you have a planner/coordinator to handle it for you?